Liver Cleansing Diet of Almonds, Sunflower Seeds & Linseeds

Health Nut

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A blend of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds, referred to as LSA, is a powerful antioxidant mix and has several liver cleansing properties. All three foods provide your liver with vital fatty acids and they give your liver nutrients that are easy to digest. You can buy LSA in health stores, or you can make it with three cups of linseeds, two cups of sunflower seeds and one cup of almonds, ground together.

Liver

Your liver works harder than virtually any other organ in your body. It flushes harmful toxins out of your body. According to the American Liver Foundation, it also stores energy, kills germs, protects you from pollution, makes bile to help break up your food, prevents cuts from bleeding and builds muscle. Once most of your food is digested it sits in your liver. If your liver is not functioning properly, it will impact upon your whole body. Diet is the major cause of liver disease, and eating healthily ensures you have a strong liver. Feeding your liver nutritious foods like almonds, sunflower seeds and linseeds, rather than junk food and candy, keeps it working properly.

Vitamins and Minerals

Almonds, linseeds and sunflower seeds are rich sources of Vitamin E and are therefore an excellent source of the antioxidants your liver needs to detoxify. The antioxidants lessen the damage caused by free radicals. These are atoms with an odd number of electrons that damage the cells in your liver, explains Rice University. Because free radicals contribute to liver diseases such as hepatitis C, Pablo Muriel at Springerlink.com recommends antioxidants to combat liver disease. The antioxidants your body gains from almonds, linseeds and sunflower seeds repair and clean your liver. The U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements recommends men and women aged 14 or over get 15 mg of Vitamin E per day. Almonds, linseeds and sunflower seeds are also good sources of Vitamins A, B and D, as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, phosphorus and selenium, which all help the liver metabolize fats.

Fats

Almonds, sunflower seeds and linseeds are all excellent sources of unsaturated fats. Your body needs a certain amount to survive. The USDA recommends you make up 29 percent of your diet with fat, but at least two-thirds of this should come from unsaturated fat. Saturated fats and trans fats, found in red meats, fried foods, and chips, fries, candy and chocolate, make it difficult for your liver to process cholesterol, so you must limit the consumption of these. Unsaturated fats, however, allow your liver to flush “bad” cholesterol from your body and keep your blood pressure down. They also improve heart health.

Recipes

When you grind together almonds, linseeds and sunflower seeds, the mixture tastes sweet and nutty. Sprinkle it on yogurt, fruit, cereal, salad, vegetables, or use it when baking bread, muffins, or cakes, or add it to smoothies and shakes.

Considerations

Almonds, sunflower seeds and linseeds should be eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet. They are a good source of fiber, unsaturated and vitamins and minerals, but you must eat foods rich in protein and carbohydrates, and a wide variety of fruit and vegetables every day in order to keep your liver and your other organs healthy. Consult your doctor before making changes to your diet.